Shopping for hybrid bike for woman, did some research but... need help! :)

Hello everyone,

Last year, I started a thread because I wanted to buy a road bike and with the help of your valuable advice, I ended up purchasing a Cannondale Synapse Sport 5 which I love and still use daily to commute to work.

Now, I'm helping a girl friend shop for a new bike (if you'd see her current one, you'd understand why ) because I want to ride with her. She wants an hybrid with a price ranging from 700$ to 1000$ CAD.

I did some research in existing similar threads and ended up with a few interesting models:

- Specialized Sirrus Sport (700$ CAD - for men but maybe she'll be comfortable in it)
- Specialized Sirrus Elite (950$ CAD - from what I read, the only difference with the Sport is the carbon part? Is it worth it?)
- Specialized Vita Sport (700$ CAD - WSD, might be more comfortable for her. Similar parts to Sirrus Sport?)
- Specialized Vita Elite (1050$ CAD - WSD, only difference again with Sport is partial carbon, right?)
- Trek 7.5FX (920$ CAD - WSD, 7.6FX is highly praised here but out of budget. Is 7.5FX still a decent choice?)

We're going to visit 2 LBS' tomorrow so she can try those models because that's crucial before buying but I would really appreciate having your input on those models before and maybe others too... Cannondale Quick Feminine maybe? Is Shimano EF-50 better than Deodre? etc...